President Jacques Chirac thanked French officials for "difficult, often dangerous" efforts to free Aubenas and her Iraqi guide, Hussein Hanoun al-Saadi. He said Aubenas was healthy and heading home.

Chirac did not provide details of their release, nor did a brief statement issued by the Foreign Ministry.

But former foreign minister Michel Barnier, who worked on the case until leaving the government this month, said France paid no ransom.

AT LEAST eight people were killed and 36 injured yesterday in four bomb explosions that targeted government buildings and officials in Iran, state-run television reported.

At least four women were among those killed in the explosions in Ahvaz, capital of the south-western Khuzestan province which borders Iraq. The blasts were the deadliest explosions in Iran in more than a decade.

Gholamreza Shariati, deputy provincial governor for security affairs, said perpetrators were seeking to undermine public participation in Friday's presidential elections.

Television pictures showed heavily damaged buildings, blood on the ground and damaged cars. Shariati said 36 people, including eight police officers, were injured.